Beatles: In My Life Meaning

Song Released: 1965

In My Life Lyrics

There are places I remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   MountaineerForLife

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Sep 20th 2007 !⃝

   I never heard this song in a real historical context - as in John looking at specific places, people, and events throughout his life. I've always thought of this song as the ultimate statement of love for someone - it is, in my opinion, the most well-written love song ever. Here's why...
   
   He recalls all the places and people that he's known and loved throughout his life and says that they still mean something to him, but not as much as the person to whom the song is directed. He seems to be willing to leave behind all those things that he's felt so much for because the love that he now feels for this girl is much stronger. And even though he is leaving all of that behind, he still manages to say that these people and places will always have a place in his heart, even if they have since changed.
   
   This song seems to indicate a large transition in his life - he's leaving so much behind in favor of a new love, and that's a powerful statement.
   
   Like I said, I don't obsess over the actual history of the song - like how and where it was written - I just like to look at it as a stand-alone body of work and interpret it by itself (us English majors would call it New Criticism). To me, it is the ultimate statement of love for someone as well as continued affection for one's past loves.

2. 2TOP RATED

   #2 top rated interpretation:
   Songwriter61

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Dec 19th 2011 !⃝

   This song is one of the greatest love songs ever written. The prosody of the Lyric and Music is exceptional!! The Melody is Introspective,Longing,Emotional and Marvelously Beautiful! I do agree with most of all the other assessments of this song for the most part, but I believe "Lyrically" speaking, the most important line may be looked at from a different perspective with even more profundity and if this is it's true meaning, then it says something that I believe is even more profound than the popular assessment. The line: "And these memories lose their meaning when I think of love as something new."This line really needs to be thought through critically. Yes, it could mean exactly what most opinions believe it to mean but the following should be considered: Earlier in the Lyric the Writer mentions that "Some are Dead and Some are Living". So with that said, it's quite possible that the person the writer is addressing is someone who he/she has just met-and therefore living, or it could be referring to someone who is dead. It's important to think this through first because the Profound line is, again, "And these Memories lose their meaning, when I think of love as something new. To me, it is just as possible and possibly even more profound for the writer to mean the following in that phrase. He seems to be going from the general to the specific and from the lesser to the greater. While my opinion does not suggest that the lesser loves in his life are by any means diminished, but by this statement rather,reaffirmed or reestablished. What could be a very reasonable assessment of main line is that what he means when he says, "And these memories lose their meaning, when I think of love as something new is another way of saying: To think that something could come along and surpass this already established true article "Lifetime Love"would actually cheapen it and in so doing greatly change it's meaning.Moreover,it should be noted that while the writer talks about friends and lovers, the recipient of their affections may actually be intended for someone outside of those two categories, like maybe a parent, a sibling or a child. Nevertheless, to have the "REAL DEAL" once in one's lifetime, could never be replaced or diminished by something "NEW" or else it was never the "REAL DEAL" in the first place. Thinking of the Lyric this way to me makes more sense and is in fact even more profound when speaking of the power of love!
3. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Dec 15th 2023 !⃝

   It sounds to me that he is speaking of a past love. He has a lot of people in places before, but there is no one that compares to you. And he will never forget the love that he had for these people in places, but still in his heart there is no one that compares to you in his life. There are different types of love for your parents, siblings, friends, etc. lifeless things as places, but again there’s no one that compares to you, in my life I love you more….
   
   
   
4. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Feb 10th 2022 !⃝

   I didn't disect the words to the song, as some of the above correspondents have done. I'm 72 years old,
   in poor health , and realize that my earthly time is short.
   Anyway, I had a group of of songs prepared to be played at my earthly release celebration for anyone who cares to attend, and "In My Life" leads the set.
5. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jan 2nd 2021 !⃝

   It is my birthday today. The first thing I did when I woke up, in my thoughts I asked my late husband to give me a sign that he is with me in my special day. I searched for random quotes on my phone this one appeared “Though I know I’ll never lose affection / for people and things that went before/ I know I often stop and think about them/ in my life I’ll love you more”. I traced this beautiful quote to John Lennon’s “In my Life “ song. I played it and
   I listened... such a powerful message of love. I love this song. Love is eternal. It is my birthday song ❤️
6. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Aug 24th 2017 !⃝

   It's about lost love. Places have changed, not for the better. He's referring to an old love who's been lost and now, probably many years later, he's moved onto something else but still looks back with longing at what was before in his life.
7. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Oct 8th 2016 !⃝

   David Cole, who hosted an entertainment show on CBC radio in the early 1980s, stated John wants to reassure his woman of the supremacy of their love and not to feel insecure at the mention of people or events from his beloved past. The essence of the song is reassurance.
8. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Oct 4th 2016 !⃝

   A few days after my Dad passed away, this song came into my head (I had never heard the song before) and all I could hear of the verses was "In my life, I loved you more". I did not know what band this song was from, so I started googling "In my life" and "I loved you more". I finally found the song and listened to the entire song on my phone with tears in my eyes. I truly think my dad was sending me a message from Heaven with this song, telling me he loved me more. Every time I hear it now, I think of my Dad.
9. kooljohn176

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Dec 31st 2015 !⃝

   Just one of the greatest songs that captured the past,present and future in a love song about the people that the young and real JOHN LENNON loved and loves in his life that he did not forget about them in the old days when he was so full of life with the BEATLES Band. This was years before John crossed over into the Altered States of consciousness to search and find new ways to express his love to all. Always [R.I.P] John.
10. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Aug 4th 2014 !⃝

    This is a song that truly describes everyone's life.
11. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Jun 24th 2012 !⃝

    THis will be the song for mother/son ( me) at my upcoming wedding.
    I chose it for several reasons:
    1) I grew up listening to the Beatles and always loved dancing with her to it
    2)it, in my opinion, epitomizes love for those with us and those who have moved on- particularly touching for having lost a brother and her third son 13 years ago.
    (We are getting married (2nd wedding for both of us))
    
    on the 13th, somehow this may be symbollic of breaking chains and "superstitions" about the number 13...."
    
    My interpretation is really quite simple:
    It is one of the most perfectly written songs I've ever heard...
    up there with Imagine
    (Lennon) and many others that powerful evoke tender, reflective emotion...
    T
12. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Nov 17th 2011 !⃝

    Father/daughter wedding dance song.
13. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Jan 16th 2011 !⃝

    My interpretation is that this song is basically about how the beatles view life. They sum it up perfectly under just three minutes. In a way all of the lines are prophetic because of what happened to John Lennon and George Harrison - God rest their souls - they mention places that have changed 'forever not for better' so they can still remember the most trivial places that had some significance in their lives. They also sing about people who have affected their lives 'some are dead some are living in my life ive loved them all' It is a beautiful piece that represents real music. It is my favourite song in the world, my father wants this song played at his funeral which also has a significance to the lyrics :)
14. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Jun 11th 2009 !⃝

    so this was written by jhon and it was about his life as many of us have said. He's saying I've met so many people and I loved them all, some of them are dead some of them are alive, some have changed and some have stayed the same. BUt that doesnt matter, hes basically saying to the person you love, will mean more to you than anyone else in the world and you have to hang on to it, because it may never happen for you again.
15. alvi

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Feb 16th 2009 !⃝

    This is the kind of song that makes you say "Great song" the first time you hear it.The music is ,i would say perfect,especially that part of solo.The lyrics one of the most poetic ones.But what really matters it's their meaning.John talks about his life and as you hear the song you realize that deep inside you would do anything to be like him.Isn't it great?To expres beautifully something beautiful.
    For my opinion the best song ever.
16. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Sep 17th 2007 !⃝

    I think the previous interpretations are correct (including that the song is "beauty defined") but I also think the song is primarily a love song to a particular person.
    
    He has had many experiences and loved many people and things but none of those previous affections are as intense and real as the love he feels for this person.
    
    "And these memories lose their meaning/ When I think of love as something new."
    
    This love he feels for the person to whom he is singing is so profound that it feels like a completely new emotion. Everything else pales in comparison to this "new" love.
17. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Jul 15th 2007 !⃝

    This song is beauty defined.

Latest Articles

• 
  A new era for Millennial favorite, Linkin Park
• 
  Anime to watch for the soundtracks… and other reasons you’re undateable
• 
  Dolly, we need you
• 
  The Stranger Things Effect: How new media is drawing Gen Z and Alpha's attention to aging media
• 
  The most underrated soundtrack of the early 2000s
• 
  Buy the Soundtrack, Skip the Movie: Brainscan (1994)